Carriage for containers

ABSTRACT

A carriage for containers transported along a tube under the gas pressure action, wherein running wheels are mounted on the hubs with the possibility of radial motion, while the disk receiving the pressure of a stream of gases flowing along the tube is composed of separate movable sector elements independently sealed between one another. Each sector element is connected to a wheel for common displacement therewith in a radial direction.

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tes atent 1 Alexandrov et a1.

[ CARRIAGE FOR CONTAINERS [76] Inventors: Adolf Moritsovich Alexandrov, Federativny prospekt 6, korpus 3, kv. 8; Yury Abramovich Isimbler, Sojuzny prospekt l0, kv. 261; Alexandr Alexandrovich Lachinov, ulitsa Zhivopisnaya 12, kv. 19; Vladimir Efimovich Aglitsky, Zatsepsky val 6/13, kv. 61; Ilya Solomonovich Kantor, ulitsa Malo-Maskovskaya 31, kv. 45; Yury Arnoldovich Topolyansky, ulitsa Matveevskaya 10, korpus 4, kv. 233, all of Moscow, U.S.S.R.

Filed: May 20, 1971 Appl. No.: 145,302

U.S. Cl ..243/33, 243/39, 104/138 R Int. Cl ..B65g 51/06 Field ofSearch....243/3235, 39; 104/138, 138 G 1 3,734,42 [451 May 22,1973

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 562,023 6/1896 Pike ..243/39 3,074,358 1/1963 Matuszewski ..104/1 38 R 3,099,227 7/1963 Bryan ..l04/138 G FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,212,887 3/1966 Germany ..243/39 717,569 1/1942 Germany ..243/33 Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant ExaminerMerle F. Maffei Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT A carriage for containers transported along a tube under the gas pressure action, wherein running wheels are mounted on the hubs with the possibility of radial motion, while the disk receiving the pressure of a stream of gases flowing along the tube is composed of separate movable sector elements independently sealed between one another. Each sector element is connected to a wheel for common displacement therewith in a radial direction.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures CARRIAGE FOR CONTAINERS The present invention relates to plants for the pneumatic transportation of goods along a tube, and more particularly to carriages for containers.

There are widely known carriages for containers transported along a tube under gas pressure action. These carriages have a hub along whose periphery there are installed radially arranged running wheels travelling along the inner surface of the tube; a disk closing the cross section of the tube and serving for reception of gas pressure flowing through the tube is rigidly secured on one of the ends of the hub. The disk has an external diameter somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the tube. A ring made from an elastic material is secured on the periphery of the disk and reduces the circular gap between the inner surface of the tube and the disk.

The disks described above, installed on the hubs of a carriage, do not ensure a constant tractive effort and, consequently, an approximately constant speed of containers along tube lines made from tubes having the allowable manufacturing tolerances on their dimensions and shape. In addition, the ring of an elastic material installed on the disk is subjected to increased wear when the container passes local narrow sections and separate obstacles in the form of burrs and the like present in the tube.

The object of the present invention is to provide such a carriage for containers wherein the disks would be so made as to ensure a constant circular gap between them and the inner surface of a tube regardless of deviations in the dimensions and shape of the latter over its entire length, and would thus reduce the wear of the peripheral part of the disk and ensure a constant tractive effort.

In accordance with this object there is proposed a carriage for containers transported along a tube under the gas pressure action, wherein mounted on the hub are running wheels travelling along the inner surface of the tube and installed radially with respect to the latter, and a disk closing the cross section of the tube, receiving the pressure of the stream of gas flowing along the tube and having an external diameter somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the tube. According to the invention, the ends of the axle of each running wheel are secured in radially spring-loaded slides moving along guides made on the hub and supported on shock absorbers arranged between the hub and the slides, while the disk is installed near an imaginary plane passing through the axles of the running wheels and is composed of movable sector elements with independent seals between them, each element having a slot to receive a running wheel and being rigidly secured on the slides of this wheel for common motion with it.

The carriage for containers according to the present invention is reliable in operation and ensures a constant circular gap between the inner surface of the pipe and the disk closing the cross section of the tube for receiving gas stream pressure, regardless of the deviations in the dimensions and shape of the tube over its entire length, thus considerably reducing the wear of the peripheral part of the disk and retaining a constant tractive effort. Owing to this advantage, the field of application of pneumatic transportation of goods in containers along tubes is greatly extended, and costs are reduced, ensuing from the possibility of employing tubes without special requirements being made to the quality of their inner surface and to the design of joints, the accuracy of dimensions and shape.

The nature of the present invention will become more fully apparent from a consideration of the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view of a carriage for containers according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section through II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section through III--III of FIG. 1 (to a greater scale).

Container 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is supported by means of its journals 2 disposed on its end walls on carriages 3. Each carriage 3 has hub 4 that is fitted onto journal 2. The hub carries running wheels 5 bearing on the inner surface of tube 6. Wheels 5 are radially arranged on hub 4 with respect to the cross section of tube 6.

Each running wheel 5 of carriage 3 is mounted on axle 7 whose ends are secured in slides 8. Slide 8 has a through hole 9 by means of which it is fitted onto rod 10 rigidly secured on hub 4.

This rod serves as a guide for motion along it of slide 8 in a radial direction when the section of tube 6 changes or wheel 5 of carriage 3 encounters an irregularity on the inner surface of tube 6. Slide 8, in addition, has blind hole 11 to receive spring 12. One end of this spring acts on the bottom of blind hole 11, and the other bears against hub 4 and serves for lightly pressing running wheels 5 housed in the upper part of the carriage and bearing no load from the weight of the container 1 and carriages 3, against the inner surface of tube 6.

Mounted on carriage 3 is disk 13 designed for receiving the pressure maintained in the tube from a source (not shown) of compressed gas and creating a tractive effort.

This disk is composed of separate sector elements 14 independently movable in a radial direction. To ensure its independent mobility each sector element 14 is rigidly fixed on slides 8 of the corresponding running wheel 5, for the accommodation of which sector element 14 has slot 15. Sector elements 14 are secured on slides 8 of the relevant wheels as close as possible to an imaginary plane passing through axles 7 of running wheels 5. Such an arrangement of sector elements 14 allows them to pass obstacles on the inner surface of the tube almost simultaneously with wheel 5, while the securing of each sector element 14 on slides 8 of one wheel 5 permits each sector element, regardless of the other ones, to displace radially together with the corresponding wheel 5, copying the internal shape and dimensions of tube 6.

Sealing of the sector elements 14 is achieved by overlapping them as shown in FIG. 3. Such overlapping of sector elements 14 ensures proper sealing thereof upon their radial displacement together with wheels 5.

It is possible to use other seals and packings that will close the gap formed upon the radial motion of the sector elements together with the running wheels.

The securing of each sector element 14 on slide 8 of the corresponding wheel 5 makes it possible to retain a constant gap between sector elements 14 and the inner surface of tube 6 not only when the containers are travelling along straight and curved sections of the tube line made from tubes with different deviations in dimensions and shape, but also when they pass over various obstacles encountered on the inner surface of the tube (burrs, overflow of welds, etc.).

Along the periphery of each sector element 14 there are installed collars 16 of an elastic material for reducing the circular gap between the inner surface of the tube and the external diameter of disk 13.

Arms 17 are secured on slides 8 together with sector elements 14. By means of these arms the slides of wheels carrying the load formed by the weight of container 1 and carriages 3 are supported on shock absorbers 18 arranged on hub 4.

Shock absorbers 18 serve for transmitting the load formed by container 1 and carriages 3 to the lower surface of tube 6 through wheels 5 housed in the lower part.

The carriage for containers transported along a tube under the gas pressure action functions as follows.

When container 1 with carriages 3 is travelling along tube 6 and disks 13 of the carriages are receiving the pressure of gas fed into tube 6 from a source (not shown) of a compressed gas, wheels 5 arranged in the upper part of the tube are pressed against its inner surface by springs 12. When travelling along tube line 6 made from tubes with different deviations in dimensions and shape, and also when separate obstacles are encountered in the form of burrs, welds, etc., on the inner surface of the tube, wheels 5 together with slides 8 and sector elements 14 and arms 17 secured on them move along rods 10 and compress springs 12.

Since sector elements 14 are rigidly connected to slides 8 of wheels 5, upon their radial motion sector elements 14 also move, maintaining a constant gap between these'elements and the inner surface of tube 6 (regardless of the deviations in its diameter and irregularities on the tube section) and, consequently, a constant tractive effort.

What we claim is:

1. A carriage for containers adapted to be transported along a tube under gas pressure action, comprising: an axially extending hub fastened to the end of said container and supporting said container; a plurality of radially extending guides mounted about the periphery of said hub; radially movable slides being supported on said guides; transversely extending axles having the ends thereof secured in said slides; rotatable wheels adapted to bear against the inner surface of said tube being mounted on said axles in radially spaced relationship with respect to the inner longitudinal passage of said tube; springs interposed between each of said slides and said hub for resiliently biasing said wheels against the inner surface of said tube; shock absorbers mounted on said hub and positioned between each of said slides and said hub for transmitting the load of said container and carriage weights to said wheels; and diskshaped means extending transversely across and closing the cross-section of said tube for receiving the pressure of gas streaming through said tube, said diskshaped means having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of said tube, said disk-shaped means comprising a plurality of separate wedge-like sector elements, the adjoining edges of adjacent sector elements overlapping so as to form seals therebetween, each of said elements having a slot to facilitate passage therethrough of said wheel, each said element being rigidly secured to the respective slide of the wheel passing therethrough adjacent an imaginary plane passing through said axles of the wheels for joint motion therewith. 

1. A carriage for containers adapted to be transported along a tube under gas pressure action, comprising: an axially extending hub fastened to the end of said container and supporting said container; a plurality of radially extending guides mounted about the periphery of said hub; radially movable slides being supported on said guides; transversely extending axles having the ends thereof secured in said slides; rotatable wheels adapted to bear against the inner surface of said tube being mounted on said axles in radially spaced relationship with respect to the inner longitudinal passage of said tube; springs interposed between each of said slides and said hub for resiliently biasing said wheels against the inner surface of said tube; shock absorbers mounted on said hub and positioned between each of said slides and said hub for transmitting the load of said container and carriage weights to said wheels; and disk-shaped means extending transversely across and closing the cross-section of said tube for receiving the pressure of gas streaming through said tube, said disk-shaped means having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of said tube, said disk-shaped means comprising a plurality of separate wedge-like sector elements, the adjoining edges of adjacent sector elements overlapping so as to form seals therebetween, each of said elements having a slot to facilitate passage therethrough of said wheel, each said element being rigidly secured to the respective slide of the wheel passing therethrough adjacent an imaginary plane passing through said axles of the wheels for joint motion therewith. 